Enjoying Life
by PinkAngel17
Summary: Morgan works through his anger and confusion over Emily's return with a little help from a friend. Set after 'It Takes a Village'.


Disclaimer: I still don't own Criminal Minds. I just play with the characters once in awhile.

A/N: This is set between the season seven premiere, 'It Takes a Village', and 'Proof'. It's basically how Morgan came to terms with the betrayal so quickly.

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><p>It was a cloudy Saturday afternoon and one of the few days Derek Morgan had off after the chaotic previous month. Normally he'd be taking full advantage of this break with Penelope as they lounged around her living room watching movies and snacking on whatever they could find in her kitchen, but not today. Today his mind was as cloudy and downcast as the weather outside the apartment. He just couldn't focus on the movie currently playing or the beautiful bombshell at his side.<p>

All he could think about was Emily Prentiss and how she apparently wasn't as dead and everyone thought. Or at least as he and most of the team thought. Hotch and JJ certainly knew the truth and obviously had no problem keeping the rest of the team in the dark. Team…even that word he was having trouble accepting now because a team wasn't supposed to lie to each other like this.

And the thing was that he knew why they had to lie to him. He understood it from a cop's point of view and a profiler's. The less people who knew that Emily was alive, the safer she and everyone else would be. That didn't mean it didn't hurt like knife to the jugular…or should he say a knife to the back? That seemed more fitting giving the circumstances.

"Derek…"

Penelope's soft voice seemed to caress his frazzled nerves enough to draw him out of the distracted trance he had found himself in. He looked up, noticing for the first time that the movie was apparently over, and saw her watching him with a concerned, but understanding expression. "Sorry, baby, I zoned out there for minute." He said with a teasing smile in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Penelope smiled back at him with compassion and just a hint of sadness written in her eyes. He knew it wasn't sadness for the situation though, it was for him. "More like ten minutes, sugar." She stated playfully, patting his cheek gently.

He brought his hand up to hers, holding it to his face a moment longer before bringing it down to sandwich between both of his own hands. "Sorry, baby." He muttered, gazing down at her smaller, softer hand.

"You already said that." Penelope reminded him with a little half-smile. "But you don't have anything to be sorry for."

She was right, _he_ didn't have anything to be sorry for, but _they_ did. Did they really think Emily could just waltz back into the BAU, back into everyone's lives, without any consequences or fall outs? The whole thing was just…messed up. And he honestly wasn't sure how to feel about it anymore. After all, he had gotten one of his friends back when he thought all was lost.

Penelope's quiet sigh brought him back to reality once again and he glanced over just in time to see her taking her hand out of his and turning so she was completely facing him with her legs crisscrossed on the sofa. He tried not to stare too much at her bare legs that were sticking out from under her skirt, but since she took away the hand he'd been studying he needed something to focus on. It wasn't his fault her legs made such wonderful distractions.

"Hot Stuff…" She began amusedly, making him look up and meet her eyes which were giving him the 'I know you were just staring at a part of my body, but I need you to focus on what I'm actually saying' look.

"Yeah, princess?" He asked with a mischievous grin as he turned to face her and slowly let his hand drift to her bare ankle.

"Emily's alive." She stated matter-of-factly, drawing out the words as if to get it across. He knew then that no matter how much he let his hands wonder, she wouldn't be getting as distracted as him right now. "I know you're mad that Hotch and JJ and Emily lied to us. I am too, but she's _alive_. And isn't that what really matters?"

"It should." He agreed softly with a sigh and a small nod as his eyes slid back down to the sofa. "But it's not that easy, sweetheart. You know I have trust issues and this…this was just too much. They should never have…"

His sentence was cut off by one of Penelope's fingers pressing against his lips. She let the finger linger there a second longer before moving it away again. "Emily is alive. She's here with us again, where she belongs. Isn't that what we've been wanting and asking for over the last few months? We wanted nothing more then to be able to see her again and know that she was safe at home. And now we have that. How many people get a second chance like this?" She continued with a soft chuckle.

There was silence for a few seconds as her words started to sink into his head. Of course, he already knew this. The logical part of his brain knew he should be thankful. It was the less trusting side of him that wanted to keep them all at arms length until they proved worthy again. But, in the end, Penelope was right.

"I know if it was you, if something happened to you…" She began again, a slightly tearful sound to her voice as she thought about it. "I would be overjoyed just to have you back. I wouldn't care how or why, just knowing that you were still with me would be enough."

That certainly made him think and put a few things in perspective. If it had Penelope who he thought was gone forever he wouldn't care how he got her back just as long as he could hold her in his arms again and never let go. Because that's what mattered, that she was actually _here_ for him to hold onto.

Slowly that less trusting part of his brain began to fade away while the logical side started to take over. He could understand, he _did_ understand. In the end, Emily was alive, the team was a family again, and for once everything was right where it should be. That's what really mattered.

He caught Penelope's eyes, smiling and brushing some of her soft curls behind her ear. With one final nod he turned back towards the TV, waited until Penelope did the same, and then wrapped an arm around her shoulders so they could continue watching movies and enjoying life.

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><p>AN: So, what did you guys think? Review please!


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